Yellowbacks, originally published as inexpensive books to be sold in
railway bookstalls, represent a major cultural window through which we
can view late Victorian England. Their importance was recognized by the
noted Victorian book scholar Michael Sadleir as early as 1938 when he
published Collecting Yellowbacks. Dr Chester Topp's comprehensive
and systematic study of these colourful survivors is based on his own
collection of 1,700 yellowbacks and 1,900 early 19th century paperbacks.
To date, he has produced five separate volumes; these two depict publications
by the houses of Routledge and Ward & Lock. This is a standard reference
work to support Special Collections.